Last week we debuted this new series where we go to a bar on Thursday nights and get a drink of the week. One of my favorite Peoria taverns is Mike’s Tavern, the legendary West Peoria dive bar where the drinks aren’t fancy, but they do pack a punch. Let’s go see what they’re going to mix up for us this week!

Here we are at Mike’s Tavern in West Peoria. A classic Peoria Tavern that’s been serving up drinks for decades. It always feels like home inside of Mike’s so let’s go inside and see what the MBIP Drink of the Week will be tonight!

It’s always nice and dark in here and one of the friendliest atmosphere’s in town! A vintage Budweiser trolley spins overhead and there’s gaming machines in the back. Behind the bar is the dustiest beer can collection in the world! There’s no place like Mike’s Tavern and if for some crazy-ass reason you’ve never been here, you need to stop in for a drink and check it out!

Our Mixologist for the evening is Amber. She bartends here on Thursday nights and she has a special drink that you can only get when she’s behind the bar. And that drink is...

Jacob’s Shake-Up. This is a vodka and lemonade drink that Amber says was inspired by a local kid’s lemonade stand here in West Peoria. His name is Jacob and she said he was really thorough when making his lemonade drinks and there was one ingredient that really impressed her and we’ll find out what that ingredient is soon.

Amber wasted no time in whipping up a batch of the Jacob’s Shake-Ups. The three key ingredients are ice, lemonade and vodka and she’s not stingy with the vodka either! I’m thirsty already!

Amber’s finishing up the drinks and there’s the secret ingredient she adds at the end, fresh mint! This is looking like a perfect summer drink!

Here’s Amber serving them up and...

This is the finished product and the MBIP Drink of the Week: The Jacob’s Shake-Up!

Seven of us sampled the drink at the bar, from top left that’s: Holli, Angie, Amber, Joe, Michelle, Brian and Yours Fooly. We all agreed that this was a fantastic, tasty and refreshing summer cocktail! Thanks to Amber for a wonderful drink and to everyone at Mike’s for playing along, it was a fun evening! Cheers from all of us and we’ll see you all tomorrow!